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Vaal-based Coenie de Beer comes to Scottsville on Saturday with his one good horse as Talktothestars attempts to defend his crown in the R1m, Grade 1 Tsogo Sun Sprint (1200m).
De Beer is a canny owner-trainer with only a dozen horses in his yard and arrived at Scottsville last year with an unfashionably bred horse carrying top weight and racing ‘barefoot’ – seemingly the only point in his favour being top rider Piere Strydom.
It was the Strydom fans who were standing in the pay-out que post-race as the gelding finished with a wet sail in a performance that earned him a 123-merit rating, elevating him to the lofty heights of best horse in the country.
From there on it has been a bumpy road for Talktothestars with his only subsequent victory being in a Pinnacle Stakes at Flamingo Park where he was hard-pressed to land his short odds. His rating has been dropping steadily since but even though he now races of a mark 10 pounds lower, he still shoulders top weight tomorrow and where some of last year’s opposition, notably third placed Exelero and Gulf Storm, meet him on more favourable weight terms.
That said, those that subscribe to the theory that a horse’s form peaks in yearly cycles, will be having a dip on Talktothestars. He recently rattled home in the Grade 1 Computaform Sprint behind Rafeef with hot favourite Carry On Alice treading water in third with Talktothestars effectively turning the tables on the multiple Grade 1-winning mare.
It was a smart performance by any standards and although it is not advisable to stakes the month’s salary on Talktothestars he should at least finish with more behind him than in front.
Exelero is another to have been in the doldrums since his third last year, out of the money in four subsequent starts. However, Vaughan Marshall appears to have got to the bottom of the gelding as he turned in a much improved performance behind today’s more fancied runner Attenborough and he faces Talktothestars on 1kg better terms.
An interesting contender is the Mike de Kock runner Janoobi. The dual Guineas winner has plenty of speed but only just sees out a ‘mile’. On any other course the drop to six furlongs would be a concern but the Scottsville 1200m demands some stamina and along with fellow three-year-old Table Bay could be the dark horses.
This is a peculiar event which records show is often a battle between the top weights and those at the bottom of the handicap with no middle market. Talktothestars, Exelero, Janoobi and Table Mountain all fit into that category.
Saturday’s jackpot is made up of four Grade 1 sprints, the Tsogo Sun Sprint the tricky final leg, and the R600,000, Grade 1 Allan Robertson Fillies Championship (1200m) the opener. Champion trainer Sean Tarry will be looking to SA Fillies Nursery winner Green Plains to add lustre to her bid for Equus Award honours but the local contingent is largely untested against visiting opposition which adds some intrigue. The Pau Lafferty pair of Crymeariver and Touch Of Magic are both highly regarded with the latter possibly the pick. Neptune’s Rain has done all of her racing on this course which is an advantage while Light On Her Toes has had the form of her debut win franked and could be anything.
De Kock saddles Grade 1 SA Nursery runner-up Naafer in the R600,000, Grade 1 Tsogo Sun Gold Medallion (1200m) but the Summerveld dogs have been barking the name Sand And Sea as Dennis Drier attempts to win the Gold Medallion for the sixth time in eight years and for the seventh time overall
Finally, Carry On Alice has her final race in the R600,000, Grade 1 SA Fillies Sprint (1200m), a race she won as a three-year-old, and is weighted to bow out on a winning note. However, she has had a tough season and the three-year-olds Live Life, Just Sensual, Vision To Kill and last year’s Allan Robertson winner The Secret Is Out will not make it easy for her.